However, in the past 50 years, more than 50% of the original rainforest in Borneo has been lost. Every second, a patch of rainforest the size of a soccer field disappears to make place for monoculture plantations. This results in excessive CO2 emissions, loss of biodiversity, polluted rivers, bleached corals, floods, and droughts. Moreover, the people living in Borneo’s forest communities are poorly paid and have either limited or zero access to secure jobs and/or financial services. They are losing their land and have limited access to proper health care and education. And it is they who experience most keenly the negative side-effects of the deforestation: lack of clean drinking water, absence of shade, rising temperatures and infertile soils.
What is our definition of deforestation?
Our definition of deforestation is the removal of primary or secondary rainforest by companies who transform this rainforest in monoculture plantations, mining sites or other industrial purposes on a large scale.
Communities that live near the forest often transform small pieces of secondary forest into agricultural land to cultivate rice/vegetables on a small scale for their own consumption. We don't see this as the core of the problem of deforestation. However, to minimise the conversion of this secondary forest and to maximise the output for local consumption and tradable products, Forestwise supports the communities we work with to move away from these traditional 'slash and burn' agricultural practises by introducing regenerative agriculture and agroforestry through collaboration with Stichting Fat Forest Foundation and the Indonesian NGO Yayasan Rimba Raya Abadi.
Picture: Varuschka Jane Reinsfield-Lord
#Rainforestvalue is a method of preserving the remaining rainforests of Borneo by giving local villages and families the opportunity to monetize on what's is already growing in the rainforest. How a look at how we make this possible.
